Arguments filed over Baton Rouge court districts

BATON ROUGE, La. - Attorneys for two black Baton Rouge residents say a system of electing three Baton Rouge City Court judges from a majority-white sub-district and two more from a predominantly black sub-district needs to be changed.

The residents are pursuing a federal court challenge of the election boundaries.

The boundaries were drawn in 1993 when Baton Rouge's population was majority white.

The challengers argue that the 2010 census showed the city with a majority-black population and voting-age population.

Attorneys for the city-parish government and Mayor-President Kip Holden, who is black, counter that black residents still have opportunities to elect their candidates of choice. They note that Holden won three elections in years when East Baton Rouge Parish still had majority white registration.